One last breath, and just spin the bottle now
by I-write-hurt-not-comfort
Summary: Vanitas throws a New Year's Eve party, and soon enough, everyone is engaged in a heated, scandalous, and awkward-as-heck game of 'spin the bottle' / VaniLeo / contains drug use, heavy drinking, smoking, etc / NYE fic 2018-2019


_**(A/Ns: a belated happy new year's to my readers! i'd like to thank nualie who helped me plan this back in like August or something. the title was taken from truth or dare by marianas trench. the ships were done entirely randomly with a spinner and two die online, hence some weird shit happens.**_

 _ **please leave a review if you can!**_

 _ **content warnings: heavy drinking, drug use refs, implications of sex, elliot getting very very jealous, lots of making out, vanitas' inability to do multiplication when drunk.**_

 _ **disclaimer: i do not own PH or VnC)**_

* * *

 **One last breath, and just spin the bottle now**

These parties never went well.

"Parties" was an ambitious statement, however.

Really, it was more like a _gathering_ , you could say. A gathering of ten friends, with copious amounts of alcohol, and approximately half of them high.

The host was Vanitas, probably one of the loudest and memorable of their group. He was openly bisexual, high most of the time, and smoked like a goddamn chimney. But he was still smart, and because his parents (stupidly, and naively) trusted him enough, he was frequently left alone with the house several weekends a year.

Obviously, leaving a 17-year-old with a house to themselves and a credit card available for use really _was_ naïve, since the first thing which _always_ came to mind was to invite everyone over. Which was _particularly_ convenient, as this time, it was the 31st of December – the perfect opportunity for a New Year's Eve party.

The first person he usually invited was Noé, who was – as of recently – his _ex-_ boyfriend. They'd been dating for 3 years, but for some reason, something wasn't working out. So, much to Noé's dismay, mostly, they'd cut it off. But that couldn't destroy their friendship. Thus, even though they walked around with a heavy awkwardness above them obvious to even a blind person, the two remained inseparable. Just as _friends._

Next to be invited was always Domi and Jeanne, who'd also been their friends since damn-near childhood. Oh, and they _were_ dating. Openly. Sometimes _too_ open.

The rest of those invited was effectively the rest of their friend group, which had gradually built up throughout secondary school, and continued through to college.

The first of them was Leo, who was probably – _currently_ Vanitas' best friend. Of course, the primary reason for that was that they'd both coincidentally broken up with their partners at more or less the same time, and they both smoked too much weed and tobacco. Something to bond over, at least. Not that either of their ex's approved.

Elliot was Leo's ex, who'd taken the news… well, _not_ so lightly as Noé. He was smart, sensible, and _still_ getting over Leo breaking up with him. Vanitas was never sure how he'd merged into their friend group, but in all truth, it worked.

Others who had joined them slightly later included Gilbert (and where Gilbert went, Vincent went), Oz, Sharon, and Break, all of whom had been friends with Elliot, and had thus merged into their group, along with Astolfo.

Astolfo was one of Noé's old friends, who had a bit of an iffy history with Vanitas. And Vanitas hated him, but somehow, after a fall out with Roland (probably the most hated member of the school), Noé persuaded Vanitas to let him stick around.

They weren't all the biggest fans of these parties, but Oz was always able to convince them to come. Primarily because he was somehow able to get enough supplies of alcohol from some suspicious guy who Vanitas had come to learn as Yura. On top of that, Vanitas supplied the weed, which was enough to make a good, _good_ night.

It was now coming close to 11pm, all of them having been there since 8pm.

Easily, the drunkest were Vanitas, Domi, Leo, Vincent, Sharon, and potentially Break. Gilbert and Astolfo hadn't touched any alcohol, both of them staying in the corner with Oz, who wasn't drunk, but probably high.

At around 10pm, a group of them – namely Vanitas, Leo, Domi, Jeanne, Vincent, Break, and possibly Oz – had gone outside to Vanitas' garden, and had collectively smoked five blunts. And considering Noé, Elliot, and Sharon were pretty drunk, Gilbert and Astolfo were once again left as the only sane ones. They weren't particularly close or anything, but being the only ones not off their heads in a room was a strangely good (and certainly unique) bonding experience for them.

Currently, Vanitas wasn't quite sure where everyone was. Instead, he was outside having a cigarette, trying to ignore the fact he knew Domi and Jeanne were getting it on in his bed.

Speaking of which, he _did_ used to have a crush on Jeanne, but in all fairness, that was _long_ before his and Noé's relationship.

"Hey. You have a light?"

Vanitas immediately held out his lighter, his line of view not leaving the road ahead for a split second. He didn't need to; he recognised that voice as Leo's instantly. At the flick of the lighter, he held his hand out, taking the lighter back and asking, "What brings you out here, then?"

"Same as you," Leo scanned him up and down languidly. "That weed was good, by the way."

"Cheers," Vanitas muttered, dragging on the cigarette. "I was hoping to get everyone high. I have a game idea."

Instantly, a smirk began to tug at Leo's lips, as he exhaled the smoke from the cigarette through pursed lips. "Elaborate."

"Spin the bottle," Vanitas grinned. Then, he threw the cigarette on the ground, snuffed it out with his heel, and leant back against the brick wall of his porch. "With two dice. You multiply the numbers you get, and that's how long you make out for."

"Interesting," Leo hummed, nonchalantly. "Are you not worried about getting Noé?"

"Noé and I didn't have a difficult break-up. It won't be awkward." Vanitas paused for a moment, noticing as Leo's smirk dropped marginally. "Why? Did you and Elliot?"

At the mention of Elliot, Leo immediately turned away, and shifted uncomfortably, hiding behind a cloud of cigarette smoke. "To some extent. Elliot took it very personally. He's a very defensive person. It made it more difficult."

"I see," Vanitas said, spinning on his heel. "Well, I'm going to grab everyone. Come in when you're done."

"Oh, and you want me to play, as well?" The smirk returned promptly to Leo's face.

"Wouldn't be the same without you," were Vanitas' last words, before he fled to inside.

It only took a few minutes for Leo to finish the cigarette, grinding it out in the overflowing-with-weed ashtray, and then passing the threshold back into the house.

Once he was inside, it because evident that Vanitas had _not_ been joking.

Somehow, he'd successfully gathered everyone in the lounge. Chairs and tables pushed aside, all of them had sat arranged in a circle on the floor. There was an empty bottle in the middle – the bottle of vodka Leo seemed to vaguely remembering downing with Vanitas earlier.

Beside Vanitas was Jeanne, followed by Domi, with one thigh over Jeanne's. The two of them appeared to have moved onto champagne; a strange choice for a teenage get-together. Next to her was Sharon, squealing over the two of them. Beside her was Break, drinking neat vodka now. But he wasn't drunk in the slightest. He was just trying to contain Sharon. He might have been high, but Break was strange. None of them had ever seem him inebriated in the slightest, and this was no exception.

Elliot sat next to Break, with Oz followed by Gilbert on the other side. He seemed unwillingly to look anywhere other than the floor, clearly uncomfortable with the choice of game but unwilling to beleaguer the others. On the other side of Gilbert, there was Vincent. No one could ever tell what Vincent was thinking. And, finally, there was Astolfo, also explicitly uncomfortable (albeit it that was not much of a surprise when his past was considered), and Noé. Noé also appeared slightly uneasy, but the alcohol coursing through his veins, he couldn't bring himself to put an end to Vanitas' antics.

There was one space left, coincidentally between Vanitas and Noé – a tad awkward – but obviously left for him. So, avoiding eye contact with Elliot, who sat on the opposite of the circle, he sat down, crossed his legs over, and waited for Vanitas to acknowledge him.

"You're all ready then?" Vanitas grinned.

"Yes!" Oz yelped. "Well, mostly… hehe."

From beside him, Gilbert facepalmed; he should've _never_ let him experiment with drugs.

"Um… what're the rules?" Jeanne asked hesitantly.

"Don't bother," Domi grunted, shooting a bitter, sidelong glance at Vanitas. "He'll fuck it up one way or another."

"Calm your tits," Vanitas frowned. "You _owe_ me for that weed."

Wordlessly, Domi smiled bitterly at him.

Vanitas shot back an even nastier grin, and then continued. "We're playing it the… somewhat classic way. We spin the bottle once, that person then spins it again to see who they're making out with. And then, each of them takes one of two die, and roll. The two numbers are multiplied, and that's how long you make out for! First people to refuse, or bail out, or fail to see it through to the end; you're out." His phrases lacked clarity, his tongue tripping over every other word. "Haha, I feel bad for any poor fuckers who get two sixes. That's thirty seconds."

Noé promptly shot Vanitas a perplexed, somewhat judgemental glance. "Two sixes would be thirty-six."

"… oh."

"I do believe someone other than Vanitas should be doing the maths here, fufu~" Break chuckled, wavering as he took another gulp of vodka. Preparing himself mentally for his first spin, it seemed.

"I'm not that drunk," Vanitas slurred. A blatant lie, and everyone knew that. The devious smirk from before soon made it back onto his face, as he leant forward and spun the bottle, not uttering another word.

Every single pair of eyes was locked on that bottle until it stopped spinning.

And it landed on Elliot.

"What the hell?!" Elliot yelped. Within an instant, he sobered up. "That's unfair!"

"No, that's called the _game_ ," Vanitas chuckled. "Now spin. Let's see who Elliot's next boyfriend will be."

"Tch, insensitive prick," Elliot scoffed under his breath, but went with it nonetheless.

The bottle didn't spin for long. And when it stopped, every single person's mouth dropped open in sync when they saw who it'd landed on.

Because it stopped on Vincent.

Elliot and Vincent weren't related by blood, but their families had been close since their births. They were childhood friends, and had grown up around each other like cousins.

 _Not related by blood_ , Elliot reminded himself continuously. Vincent would ultimately say yes, because Vincent had no shame. And despite how desperately Elliot wanted to say no and put an end to this disaster before it started, he couldn't bail out on the first go!

And if all else failed, he would just consider this as part of his quest of getting over Leo.

"Elliot, will you?" Vincent grinned. No one could tell if his smile was mocking, devious, and genuine – or just all of the above.

"Uh…" Elliot stammered. Blood rushed to his face. This was _so_ humiliating. "Can we at least see how long for?"

"Oh shit, the dice thing," Vanitas remembered, throwing them a couple of dice. "Go nuts."

"As if…" Elliot snorted under his breath, and rolled them quickly. Just to get this over and done with as far as possible.

His face dropped when he saw the two and five.

"That's ten," Vanitas declared. "… right?"

Discreetly, a tad embarrassed, Noé nodded.

"Alright. Elliot?"

"Tch, _fine_!" Elliot reluctantly gave in, crawling onto his knees and meeting Vincent in the centre of the circle.

The awkwardness which lingered between them could sure as hell be felt by every single person in there. It practically radiated from them, and amplified when Vincent leant forward, placed a hand on the side of Elliot's face – strangely delicate – and placed his lips onto his.

Elliot only squirmed for a few seconds before furrowing his eyebrows, closing his eyes, and kissing back with equal force. He didn't even seem to notice when his hand crept up to Vincent's face as well, pulling the other closer.

And before they knew it, the ten seconds were up.

"Okay, okay, you can stop swallowing each other now," Vanitas said bluntly, screwing his face up, but also seemingly amused by that… display?

"I-It was the game!" Elliot yelped defensively, unable to look Vincent in the eyes the same way. (Because, despite the fact he found Vincent quite creepy, really, he was a _good_ kisser.)

Vanitas snorted in derision. "Sure."

"So~" Domi chuckled, running her fingers over Jeanne's thigh. "How about we commence the next turn then?"

"Go ahead," Elliot sneered, wiping his mouth. Because he just could not fathom the fact he'd _willingly_ spent _ten whole seconds_ making out with _Vincent._ " _Anything_ but me."

The snicker Domi responded with was unsettling, to say the least, but Elliot silenced nonetheless.

Until he saw who the bottle landed on, that was.

"What the hell?!" he yelped, drowning out the chorus of discreet chuckling from around him. The rim of the bottle stared at him, and he stared at it. "There is no _way_ it's my turn again?!"

"It's the game, dumbass," Vanitas grunted. "Domi, hit it again."

"Gladly~" Domi's grin almost reached each ear when she gave bottle another nudge, watching it spin past everyone several times until it came to a halt once again.

On Jeanne. Jeanne, the person she was currently caressing the thigh of.

"Ah, Jeanne baby," Domi purred, running her fingers through her girlfriend's hair – albeit clumsily – and then whispering, "Go for it. If I can get pics."

"No way!" Elliot yelped, but crawled forward despite his initial protests. Only when he was bombarded by perplexed stares did he did address his motivation. If you could even call it that. "Well I can't be the first one out, can I?!"

"Domi, no pictures," Jeanne scolded softly, before shuffling to the centre of the circle, opposite Elliot. "Ah, shall I roll the die too~?"

"Sure," Elliot grumbled, failing to see how this could get any worse.

It got worse.

"You just _had_ to roll a two and four, didn't you?" Elliot said with maximum sarcasm. "Tch, it could be _worse_ though…"

Elliot and Jeanne weren't particularly close at all, really. And from the moment their lips touched, that was fairly obvious to everyone around them.

Oh, and the fact Elliot was gay and frankly _not_ used to kissing girls. That was pretty obvious too.

Thankfully, the awkward and uneventful "make out session" was quickly over, Elliot pulling away the very second he could.

"Ah, not too into girls then?" Domi teased.

Instead of Elliot, though, Vanitas replied for him. "Look at him," he scoffed, frantically gesturing to a rather irritated Elliot. "Of course he isn't."

Elliot didn't give a verbal response, merely sulking at the other as he returned to his place in the circle.

The next two turns were fairly uneventful, the first two unlucky victims being Sharon and Leo. However, given that they were both inebriated beyond comprehension, neither protested when they were tasked with making out for twenty seconds.

After them, the bottle spun to Vanitas, who had groaned audibly, but went along with it regardless. And, funnily enough, on his turn, the bottle spun to Sharon once again. Of course _she_ volunteered. It was _Vanitas;_ who _wouldn't_? Besides, it only lasted six seconds.

The _scandalous_ turn came next.

As if the bottle just _hated_ him, Elliot was up next. _Again_.

"This bottle is biased," Elliot said sternly. Well, as sternly as he could without slurring his words. "This is seriously taking the piss now."

"Shut up and spin it," Vanitas scowled. No one in the circle was quite sure what their problem was with each other, but either way, Elliot and Vanitas seemed to find each other intolerable.

The very second the bottle stopped spinning, the disdainful frown spread across Vanitas' face deepened. "Fucking bottle…"

Vanitas hated Elliot. No one else except them knew, but several weeks ago, when Elliot and Leo were in the rough stages of their relationship, Elliot had tracked down Vanitas' social media, and ranted at him for half an hour straight about how he ruined their relationship. Of course, Vanitas being Vanitas, instead of giving an explanation, all he said was _"of course Leo has a crush on me, who doesn't?"_

After a two-day argument over text, that ordeal ended on Elliot blocking Vanitas.

And now they had to make-out.

Registering the look of dread on each of their faces, Domi took it upon herself to roll the die.

It was _not_ a good result.

"Thirty-fucking-seconds with that asshole," Vanitas deadpanned. Then, he threw his arms up in surrender, before crawling into the centre of the circle. "Whatever. It's the game, right?"

Elliot wanted to refuse. He wanted so _desperately not_ to do this. But then, just before he could, he glanced to his side, noticing that Leo had… looked away?

 _Fuck it,_ Elliot thought, proceeding to the centre of the circle too. _Revenge, asshole._

Apart from when Oz had announced his favourite Holy Knight character, the group had never seen Elliot so fired up over something. And that was only amplified when the kiss commenced, Elliot immediately winning over control.

Initially, in the first ten seconds or so, Vanitas was totally disengaged, the expression of disgust spread across his face deepening.

Then, something clicked, and _everyone_ saw.

Vanitas, slyly slipping his tongue past Elliot's, took the chance to bite his lower lip, before lifting a hand to the back of Elliot's head and yanking him closer. Shocked at first, Elliot eventually reacted with an equal force, turning this into a real battle for control.

Half the audience was engaged, and the other half were uncomfortable. But thankfully for everyone involved, the thirty seconds was soon up, the two pulling away in sync.

"Never again…" Elliot grunted, wiping his mouth viciously, trying to rid his mouth of the taste of saliva, alcohol, pot, and cigarettes – a taste that was sickeningly familiar.

"Don't worry," Vanitas grimaced, and after that shocking display, appeared to do nothing but sulk. "I wouldn't even _try_."

"Aha, it seems there's _still_ some tension between those two, fufu~" Break snickered. "Ah well, whose relationship are we ruining next~?"

"We'll see, won't we?" Domi winked at him. (There had been rumours that those two had hooked up before, but nothing was ever confirmed). The bottle didn't spin for long, and when it did land – _conveniently_ for her – it landed on Domi. "Aha, _finally_ some action~"

"I bet she'll regret that in a second…" Vanitas grumbled, and spun it for the next person. And when it came to a stop, landing on none other than Noé, he groaned even louder. "Or, she'll be in heaven."

"That's me!" Noé yelped excitedly, and then registered that his companion in this turn would be Domi. "Ah…"

"My dear Noé, don't feel intimidated~" Domi purred, shuffling across the circle to where he sat, and running a delicate finger over his jawline. "I'll go gentle on you, since it's your first time~"

"I can assure you it's _not_ his first time," Vanitas said bluntly, earning a discreet but sharp glare from Noé for taking it too far. Rolling his eyes, Vanitas more or less ignored the warning, but rolled the die anyway.

And sure enough, it was _this_ time that they got two sixes.

Silence befell the room.

"Well, what're we waiting for~?" Domi hummed, seating herself in Noé's lap.

"Domi," Noé sighed. "I don't remember telling you to-"

Before he got the chance to finish his sentence, Domi's tongue was already inside his mouth. Visibly uncomfortable, Noé shifted, but still did his best nevertheless. In a way, Vanitas was right; this _was_ his first time making out with a _woman._

The thirty-six goddamn seconds seemed to last forever and ever for everyone except Domi, Domi being in her element. But finally, it did come to a stop, and Domi intentionally pulled away as slowly as possible.

"Not bad," Domi gave her personal review as she shuffled back to her place next, grabbed her glass of champagne, and resumed caressing Jeanne's thigh. "Ahh, who's up next then?"

"Jeanne, I'd be worried~" Break chimed, as he spun the bottle – somehow, it'd ended up closest to him.

The second the bottle stopped, his phrase was given a double meaning.

It landed on Jeanne.

"Make me proud, hun," Domi whispered, spinning it for her. Jeanne merely swallowed thickly, evidently not as confident as her girlfriend.

And so damn right she _shouldn't_ be.

The person who was currently facing the bottle – none other than _Vincent_ – seemed… worried, almost.

Still in a daze over the last turn, Domi hastily leaned into Jeanne, and gave her a few wise words of wisdom. "Go for it, baby. _Destroy him_."

"It's _on_ ," Jeanne whispered, and Vincent genuinely looked terrified.

And his eyes doubled in size when the die roll gave them _twelve seconds._

 _It could be worse…_ Vincent thought, planting a fake smile onto his lips, and meeting Jeanne in the middle.

Her glare was determined.

And so was her kiss.

It was rough, and very clear that she'd taken Domi's advice seriously.

Nonetheless, the twelve seconds was up fairly fast, Vincent pulling away first and trying not to seem in pain. He hated most woman, but Jeanne was different. Not necessarily in a good way. Perhaps a little _too_ dominating.

"That was nauseating…" Break commented, "Ah, who's next?"

"If it's me, I refuse," Astolfo piped up. Possibly the first time he'd spoken the entire game.

"It's part of the game, asshole," Vanitas responded bitterly (he'd gotten into arguments with almost everyone there), leaning in to grab the bottle. In the process, he wavered slightly, the vodka and pot reaching its peak effect.

It must have been karma, because the moment it stopped spinning, it was pointing very clearly at none other than Astolfo.

"That bottle is cursed," Astolfo said irritably. In truth, he really wasn't comfortable with making out with some stranger. However, he couldn't be the _first_ person out; he had too much useless pride for that. "Whatever. Just… spin it again."

"You don't have to do it," Oz whispered to him from a metre or so away. "Ah, I don't know if I would…"

"Well I can't be the first out, can I?!" Astolfo yelped, not so discreetly.

He was, however, close to giving up when he saw who his turn was with.

"Fuckers…" Vanitas groaned, staring at the bottle. Trying to, at least; his vision had gone double now. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"You can't be serious!" Astolfo spluttered.

"I'm drunk, and high. I don't give a shit."

Wordlessly, Astolfo gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. "Fine. Whatever."

Hesitant in his actions, he slowly shuffled to the middle. Vanitas' unfazed, dazed expression really pissed him off, and when he rolled the die, he was prayed and prayed they wouldn't get longer than ten seconds.

His prayers were in vain; they got fifteen.

"Shh, stop complaining," Vanitas cocked an eyebrow at the other, and then, straight away, he grabbed the back of his hair, pushing them within a centimetre of each other because continuing. "Understand?"

Before Astolfo could protest, Vanitas' lips were on his. The kiss was forceful; too forceful considering they hated each other. Or maybe that was the point.

Either way, after ten seconds of squirming, Astolfo gave up, pulling away hurriedly and furiously wiping his mouth.

Vanitas could only smirk. "It seems as though you're out, asshole."

"What the fuck?! T-This is unfair!" Astolfo blurted. The stares from everyone else proved too much, and with his fingers digging into his palms until they _hurt_ , he stormed out of the room.

"Ah, should we follow…?" Oz suggested quietly, but was ignored. So, he sent Gilbert instead, who seemed more than willing to get the hell out of there.

"Well, he's out," Vanitas said proudly, turning back to his place and spinning the bottle in the process. "Shame. He's a pretty good kisser."

The bottle stopped. This time, on Break.

"Ah, my time for some action, it seems~" Break chuckled, although the devious smirk across his lips suggested he had ulterior motives. Somehow; even in a game, he was most likely plotting something.

He spun it.

It landed on Vincent.

It may have seemed like no one in that room could hate anyone as much as Vanitas hated people. But that was very, _very_ wrong. There were only two people who hated each other more, and _that_ was Break and Vincent.

They'd stolen from each other, slept with each other's partners, fought, and dragged almost everyone in that room into their spats.

And now they were tasked with making out for –

Domi rolled the die.

 _–_ _thirty fucking seconds_.

Any sane person would've refused such a task. And for a moment, as they exchanged bitter, toxic glares, it seemed as though they would.

However, Break and Vincent _both_ had _far_ too much ridiculous pride to back down from a challenge.

Thus, they accepted.

Everyone expected it to be awkward – they were _very_ wrong.

Though unnecessary, before they even started, Break and Vincent decided to take it to the sofa for some reason. No one questioned it, though, especially not when Break clambered on his knees, and lifted one leg over Vincent's hips. A bitter smirk donning his lips, Vincent leant up, grabbing Break by the collar as their lips collided.

It was rough, but controlled. Harsh, but affection. Aggressive, but practiced. It was almost as if they'd done this before, which sent confused glances to everyone's faces. Nothing, however, could beat the shocked and utterly lost expression across Gilbert's face, when he returned to the room mid-way through the thirty seconds.

The thirty seconds ended suspiciously soon.

Almost instantly, Break pulled away, glaring at the other, who glared back equally as venomously. Only when they finished glaring did they turn around and register the perplexed staring.

"That certainly was _intense_ ~" Domi chuckled.

"Break?!" Sharon yelped, almost spilling her wine, as he returned his space in circle next to her. "Is there something you're not telling me?!"

"Ah, Sharon, you needn't worry~" Break chuckled, but cocked an eyebrow at Vincent despite his words. "There's nothing you'd want to know."

"I have no one to hide from," Vincent stated simply, swirling his glass of whiskey.

"Oh~" Domi quipped. "So there _is_ something going on?"

"An extension of the truth," Break stated plainly, his grin having been replaced by a deadly scowl. "If I was not stoned right now, that would not have happened, I can assure you."

Everyone fell silent.

Well that was interesting.

"Perhaps we should continue…" Gilbert suggested calmly, knowing it was never, _ever_ a good idea to let Vincent get riled up. And right now, that was exactly what was happening.

"Excellent idea," Break said, the nonchalance of his tone further unsettling everyone.

Wordlessly, he spun the bottle, and coincidently, it landed right back on himself.

"Ah, of _course_ ," The grin returned. "Let's hope I _haven't_ slept with my next partner."

 _That_ time, Vincent did glare at him.

Calmly, over the tension, Gilbert took it upon himself to spin the bottle, watching in pity as it landed on Oz. He sighed. "Oz, I'm sorry…"

"Hah, yeah…" Oz shifted awkwardly, shuffling on the spot as he raised an arm to the back of his head. "I forfeit."

"Aw, Oz, I'm _hurt_ ~" Break snickered.

"I don't mean it personally!" Oz whined, pressing a palm to his forehead. "I would, but only if you hadn't just spent thirty seconds with your tongue down, well…. _Vincent's_ throat!"

Before _that_ insult could be taken personally, Domi spun the bottle again. This time, it landed on her girlfriend, Jeanne, and Sharon.

Sharon might've accepted if they hadn't rolled a four and five.

"I can't!" she squealed, covering her face with her hands.

Slightly disappointed, Domi attempted to persuade her. "My darling, you know I'll go gentle~"

"No!" Sharon continued to protest. "You have a girlfriend! I can't!"

The dramatic sobbing was too much for everyone to tolerate and 11:30pm, thus, they moved on.

Vincent wasn't overly impressed when the bottle spun on him, initially. _Initially_ , because the second it stopped spinning the second time… _well_.

"No," Gilbert said bluntly. Bluntly, nonchalantly, and with a touch of disgust. "I'm, uh, not… not kissing my _brother_."

"Ah, that's disappointing…" Vincent sighed, a sad smile donning his lips. "But if it's what Gil wants, then who am I to contradict?"

To end _that_ ordeal of awkwardness, the bottle was spun again.

(No one saw as Oz gave Gilbert a little smooch out of pity. Fortunately.)

The next two to end up victims were Vincent, again, and Domi. Domi was more than eager to participate, but before they got a chance to roll the die, Vincent refused, claiming he was too traumatised already.

Although still slightly disappointed, Domi was soon up again, spinning the bottle at Break. It was only for twelve seconds, too. So, to show Vincent up, presumably, Break was more than willing, winking apologetically at Jeanne beforehand.

Considering they were both skilled kissers, it was a fairly good turn, but even they could tell that, by now, everyone was getting bored.

The players who remained were Domi, Jeanne, Break, Elliot, Leo, Noé, and Vanitas, none of whom were going to back down from anything any time soon, it seemed.

"Alright, fuck the die," Domi declared, throwing them across the room and pouring herself yet another glass of prosecco. "Everyone does thirty-six seconds now~!"

"Mhm, I see~" Break chimed. "Trying to get people out, ah?"

"You see, it's midnight soon. I have yet to ruin someone's year."

"Oh please, you've ruined enough people's year," Vanitas groaned. "Alright. Whatever."

The first victims of their new proposal were Break and Leo. Of course, considering he was intoxicated beyond comprehension, Leo was willing to go along with it.

Break, on the other hand, had had enough, and wasn't too bothered about being the sixth person out.

The next turn was also uneventful, the bottle choosing Vanitas and Jeanne. To cut a short story even shorter, Vanitas said _hell yes,_ and Jeanne said _hell no_.

When the bottle spun on Elliot _again_ , he was able to give up.

… until he saw his partner, so-to-speak.

It was Noé. Noé, the ex-boyfriend of _his_ ex-boyfriend's crush. Noé, the person who was dumped because of _his_ ex. How could he _refuse_?

It was revenge. Better than before. (Plus, Noé was pretty hot. Elliot couldn't deny that. Albeit he wouldn't end a relationship to hook up with him. _Asshole_.)

"Ooooh~" Domi sang, winking at Vanitas. " _Enticing_."

Vanitas promptly looked away with an audible "hmph" – he wasn't having any of this.

"I'll do it," Elliot said. His words conveyed mostly determination, but there was also an edge of smugness too.

"My _my_ , and Noé?"

(Domi was liking this a little _too_ much, it seemed.)

"Yeah?" Noé agreed, although not too convincingly, as if he'd suddenly been sobered up by all of _this_.

Regardless of their hesitation, though, Elliot and Noé still shuffled to the middle of the circle. Shifting awkwardly amongst the stares, they eventually plucked up the courage to begin, leaning into each other incredibly slowly.

Even though he wasn't really sure what he was doing, Elliot quickly took over, the initial slow development of the kiss abruptly being replaced by hastiness. To say it was passionate would be a lie.

It was forced, more than anything.

But regardless, it was still enough to make Vanitas and Leo look away and not turn back until the thirty-six seconds was up.

"Ah, I'm sensing some tension here~" Break pointed out, knowing full-well it would stir some shit amongst those remaining.

Elliot, furiously blushing, refused to give a reply. Because in truth, Break was _right_.

The _real_ tension, however, came when the next two players were chosen.

It was Elliot. And Leo.

A disaster waiting to happen, really.

"Fuck…" Elliot cursed through gritted teeth. He was reaching his limit now. The alcohol which had fully sunk into his brain was having an effect, though, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Besides, he had never _wanted_ to break up. Surely he should be happy.

Leo, on the other hand ( _the nonchalant bastard_ ), didn't appear fazed at all. Despite his relaxed posture, however, they weren't fooled.

"Leo? Will you do it~?" Domi said. She was brave; no one else in that circle would dare provoking Leo.

With an expression only Elliot could read, Leo shrugged. "I'm up for it."

Elliot knew that expression. It was the expression which said _"I don't want to do this but I'm too drunk to care."_

Tentatively, the two crawled to the dreaded spot, crouched on their shins with their hands in their laps. How were they even supposed to _do_ this? Like they'd always done?

At first, that was what they did.

From the very second their lips touched, Elliot regretted going through with this. The taste of Leo was sickeningly tempting; a mixture of liquor, tobacco and marijuana. But it was _Leo_.

Leo, who he wasn't with anymore.

Only did Elliot stop when his chest began to hurt, a pressure welling up behind his eyes, and he had to use every bit of strength within him not to cry. His eyes burst open the second he pulled away, panting frantically for breath but more of all _refusing_ to cross gazes with the other.

In front of him, with his hand still held up where it had rested on Elliot's jawline, Leo simply froze.

After swallowing thickly, Elliot could merely shake his head. "No… this is… I _can't_!"

Not even Domi could say anything back to that. And the awkwardness wasn't even comparable to the earlier dramas.

Trust Vanitas to exacerbate it, mind you, as he snorted derisively behind a sip of his drink.

The glare from Elliot was almost scary. "Do you think this is _funny_?"

Wordlessly, _provocatively,_ Vanitas shrugged. "For me, it is."

"Elliot," Leo said, his words sharp. "Leave him out of this."

"Tch, you can't even-!" Elliot began to yell, but bit his tongue right before he could say anything he regretted. "Whatever. I'm out now."

Surprisingly, the game proceeded nonetheless, over a heavy, unavoidable silence.

To everyone's the relief, the next turn was uneventful, the bottle spinning on Vanitas and Domi. And this time, Domi straight up refused before Vanitas could accept.

Interestingly, that left three people in the game – Leo, Vanitas, and Noé. And whatever the next combination was, it would be difficult.

In some respect, people should have been questioning how _Noé_ , of all people, had made it so far into the game. However, once it was remembered Noé was too polite to refuse anyone, and was also drunk, it suddenly made quite a bit of sense how he'd made it so far.

It was also important to consider that Noé hadn't actually had any awkward pairings.

Until now, at least, when the bottle landed on him first.

… and then, Vanitas.

It was as if that goddamn bottle was out to get the next pair of exes. (Maybe that was what happened with Break and Vincent; that was what everyone thought _now_ , at least.)

"Noé, my darling?" Domi quipped, running her fingers through his hair. "Are you going to?"

Noé, at first, didn't respond. Instead, he stared at Vanitas, blankly, his eyes holding no emotion.

Then, with slightly furrowed eyebrows, Noé gave his answer. "No. I won't." The confidence in his words was strange, but understandable in a sense, too. Particularly when his gaze reverted to Vanitas. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

Silence lingered again, and Vanitas never answered that question.

"Final two, eh~?" Break snickered, nudging Leo teasingly. Leo didn't seem too impressed, though. Rather, didn't seem to think anything of it.

"We need a winner!" Sharon squealed, erratically _trying_ to point at Vanitas and Leo. "You two! Make out for as long as possible! Loser is the first to pull away! Go!"

"Sharon, calm down-" Break tried.

"She has a good idea," Domi shrugged, smirking devilishly as she gestured to the sofa. "Vanitas, Leo, show us what you've got~"

"I barely know the guy," Vanitas commented under his breath, but still proceeded to the sofa where Leo always was, despite minor protests.

"I think you'll find every person here knows you're lying, you see," Break pointed out, grinning proudly to himself. "You're hardly stealthy when you bunk lessons together."

"I know someone who never figured it out," Leo said, avoiding with eye contact with Elliot. "Domi, no pictures."

Pouting, Domi slipped her phone back into her pocket.

Vanitas, to little surprise, was the one to initiate the kiss, shuffling an inch closer before hesitantly placing a hand over the crook between his head and neck. Slowly leaning in, he planted his lips onto the other, each of them allowing their eyes to fall shut at exactly the same point.

From there, it didn't take long for them to fully melt into the embrace, continuing well past thirty seconds, as if no one was watching.

Really, their entire group was staring in awe at their every move. (Apart from Elliot and Noé, that was, who couldn't manage anything other than awkwardly shifting.)

If Domi hadn't spoken right then, god knows how long it would've gone on for.

"Noé, my dear, I think we've found who the _'someone else'_ was."

Abruptly, Vanitas pulled away, and shot the most comically perplexed glance at Domi. "Quit running your mouth!"

"I knew it…" Elliot muttered, before checking his watch. "Leave them be. It's almost midnight."

"Perfect," Break was the first to stand, albeit wavering. Though everyone knew he wasn't drunk in the slightest. "Champagne?"

"Don't even _dream_ of starting a bottle of champagne without me," Domi scolded playfully. "Jeanne, baby. Leave these two to their own devices."

Leo and Vanitas remained in total silence as everyone else flocked out of the room, whispering indecipherable rumours which weren't really rumours anymore.

Once finally alone, they finally spoke.

"Elliot wasn't lying, was he?" Vanitas said.

"You're not the reason we broke up," Leo defended, with little confidence. "It wasn't working out."

"Likewise," Vanitas shrugged, before a devious, downright suggestive grin tugged at his lips. "We can continue this upstairs, if you'd like."

For a few seconds, Leo considered it. The clock was ticking dangerously close to midnight, but he could not bring himself to refuse. _This was what he'd wanted,_ after all.

"Alright," Leo's response was simple, but it was enough for Vanitas.

Slyly, the two managed to slip out of the living room and towards the stairs. On their way, they spotted the others, crowded in the garden with Break trying to figure out how to use the fireworks.

Sneering at each other simultaneously, Leo and Vanitas were sure they'd found a better way to enter 2019.

* * *

 _Fin._


End file.
